Louisiana Tech drops Roadrunners, 71-50

RUSTON, La. — Louisiana Tech built a 38-21 halftime lead and never looked back in outdistancing UTSA, 71-50, on Saturday evening at the Thomas Assembly Center.

UTSA (11-9, 2-5 C-USA) was led by Miki Turner’s 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. Tesha Smith added 10 points, all in the first half, to join Turner in double figures.

JaQuan Jackson paced three Lady Techsters in double figures with 22 points including four 3-pointers. Whitney Frazier had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Chrisstasia Walter chipped in with 15.

Louisiana Tech (7-13, 2-5 C-USA) broke open a 13-13 first half tie with eight points from Walter as part of an 11-0 run. The Lady Techsters continued to build their lead to as much as 19 points, 38-19, on Jaquan Jackson’s 3-pointer with 23-seconds left in the half.

The Lady Techsters connected on 4-of-7 from long distance in the half and 10-of-13 from the free throw line. UTSA struggled in both areas going 0-for-6 from beyond the arc and 1-for-6 at the free throw line.

Smith kept the Roadrunners in it with 10 first half points going 5-for-5 from the field.

Frazier, a second-team All-WAC performer last season as a sophomore, registered her 10th double-double of the season in the first half alone with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Walter also reached double figures at the half with 10 points.

UTSA cut the deficit to 55-42 on Kamra King’s 3-pointer from the left wing with 6:40 remaining but Louisiana Tech continued its offensive onslaught the rest of the way for the 21-point victory.

The Roadrunners return home Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest with Florida International (10-10, 4-3 C-USA) at the Convocation Center.